Pityusic Island Fishers’ Guilds Launch a Joint Fisheries Committee to Promote Sustainable Fisheries

The Cofradías (fishing guilds) of Ibiza, Sant Antoni & Formentera, staff from the Ibiza and Formentera Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), and staff from Councils of Ibiza and Formentera recently announced the creation of the “Comisión de Pesca Pitiusa” or Piyiusic Fisheries Committee.

The Pityusic (or Pine) islands (or Pityuses) form part of the Balearic archipelago in the Mediterranean and include Ibiza and Formentera. Annya Crane from LIFE is an anthropologist supporting small-scale fisheries in the Balearic islands. “The Pityuses fishing sector  is rooted in deep social and cultural traditions.” she explains. “Fishing is mostly small-scale, run by family firms and carried out as a daily inshore practice. There are three fishing guilds in the Pityuses: one in the town of Ibiza, one in Sant Antoni and one in Formentera. Small-scale or artisanal fishers represent the majority of fishers in these islands and focus on species such as lobster, groupers, sea bream (Dentex dentex), greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili), rockfish, red scorpionfish amongst others.”

In a statement, the Pityusic fishing guilds explained that they established a joint fisheries committee to improve local fisheries management and to guarantee the future of the professional fishing sector. They plan to analyse the current state of the fishing sector, exploited resources and regulations, and to provide a space to discuss the various projects that affect the fishing sector in the Pityuses. This committee will also foster greater coordination amongst fishers and promote measures and initiatives towards more sustainable fishing.

Marga Serra from the Cofradía of Ibiza, and a consultant for LIFE will be providing technical support. According to her “The creation of this committee seeks to be one more step on the path towards improving sustainability. The objective is to have a strong sector, capable of facing the new challenges and difficulties that arise. These local Cofradìas have already achieved a number of milestones, including the implementation of the Peix Nostrum brand (a pioneering label in the Mediterranean with an individual tag for certain species), and the creation of reserved areas for  low impact fishing . To date, the Pityuses have 3 such marines reserves and will soon include two more on the West side of Ibiza.”

LIFE staff are supporting the creation of the “Comisión de Pesca Pitiusa” in partnership with Marilles Foundation.